Tag Archives: blue cheese

This week is a wrap-up of the Food Matters Project. It’s the final week of posting recipes from The Food Matters Cookbook. Rather than another recipe, I’ve spent some time thinking of what I’ve learned doing this project, so here are some conclusions (in no particular order:

2. We finally learned how to make our own pizza. Thanks to the post on whole wheat pizza, we’ve explored other toppings and new pizza crust recipes. This has definitely been a staple in a our house a couple of times a month.

3. We made hummus from scratch. Although it wasn’t my favorite recipe at that time, we’re recently added a Vitamix into our kitchen- can’t wait to try making it again!

4. Bruschetta comes in different varieties- it’s such a time saver when you’re hosting a dinner party!

5. Chimichurri is another awesome dish when you have friends over for dinner. Quick, easy and delicious- what more could you ask for?!?

6. We tried anchovies for the first time, and they are delicious in a salad. Don’t miss out!

7. My favorite dessert adventure was due to FMP- we made kumquat sorbet. It was delicious, and I am now less intimidated to break out my ice cream maker. Sorbets on the porch, during a DC summer, are a perfect way to wrap up the day.

8. Give cookbooks without photos a chance. They encourage your cooking imagination and creativity- it was so much fun learning this for over a year.

This was a wonderful opportunity, and I’m so glad our blog continued to participate in this project (although sporadically). The idea of eating less meat should be encouraged in more households, and I hope we spread Mark Bittman’s words a bit more. Definitely play around with more foods, especially vegetables. There are flavors and textures out there you may not have ever tasted, but don’t be afraid to try.

Start with what we’ve made before, there are a number of delicious dishes out there! Or check out the other participants blogs to see what they’ve made!

I absolutely love salads for lunch! If you choose one that has fresh ingredients, lots of vegetables and a delicious dressing- it’s the perfect dish that won’t weigh you down, or make you sleepy in the afternoon. Fortunately, this week’s Food Matters Project recipe was a salad I can add to our meal rotation!

When I saw that Sara, of Pidge’s Pantry, chose Mark Bittman’s recipe for the Mediterranean Cobb Salad, I was excited to see what changes he made to the salad to pack it with flavor and nutrients. I’ve never been too happy after ordering a cobb salad at a restaurant- it’s usually served with iceberg lettuce, tomato, bacon, egg, and blue cheese. Not the healthiest of ingredients, and definitely not a refreshing salad.

I made additional changes to Bittman’s recipe. I wanted the salad to have a bit more nutrients and vegetables, so I mixed the romaine with spinach. I also had some red bell peppers, cucumbers and green onions which I added to the salad. For those who are not fans of anchovies, I can sense your apprehension- I had that once myself. But if you’ve had a good dressing with anchovies in it, then you just might be a convert. This dressing fit perfectly with the salad, providing that tangy, salty flavor that it needed. But if you’re not that adventurous just yet, then double the capers, and skip the anchovies. You’ll make this salad again- so there is plenty of time to try new ingredients down the road.

I’m not providing specific amount of the ingredients since this can be tailored to how many people you plan on feeding, or if you want more of certain ingredients. The dressing produces about a 1/2 cup of liquid- enough for at least 4 servings. If you don’t want to use anchovies in the dressing, just double the amount of capers.

To make the vinaigrette combine the oil, vinegar, anchovies, capers, parsley and pepper into a food processor. Blend together until a creamy emulsion forms, within 30 seconds. Taste and add more vinegar or pepper if necessary.

Mix the spinach and romaine lettuce together on a large plate. Then spoon the ingredients on top (the order doesn’t matter): tomatoes, red bell peppers, cucumbers, egg, chickpeas and green onions. Then drizzle the vinaigrette on top, right before serving.

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s a little hectic and slightly stressful around here. So upon reading Mr. Bittman’s recipe and seeing pear and blue cheese, I decided to take this in a completely different direction. Yes, no cheese balls- more like a perfect cheese relaxation plate!

When was the last time you had bought yourself a nice block of cheese? Not when guests come over to serve as an appetizer, but just for yourself to indulge and enjoy? If you can’t remember the last time- then do this tomorrow. You will not be disappointed. This was a wonderful way to wind down after a hectic week.

I know there are some of you out there that don’t enjoy blue cheese. If you’re one of them- definitely grab another type that you’d prefer. Blue cheese does have specific taste- and this tangy flavor blended well with the sweet honey and crisp fall apples.

This is more of a suggestion, rather than a recipe. The amount of apples, cheese, honey or walnuts are entirely up to you. You can add/swap something else, just enjoy some amazing cheese (pears, crackers).

Sam and I have made this pizza in the past, and wanted to share it with everyone. We did make a small change, the type of cheese. While browsing through the cheese section, I spotted Salemville’s Smokehaus Blue– an applewood smoked blue cheese. Although we never tried it before, I figured it’d be great on this pizza.

If you cannot find the smoked blue cheese, a great substitute would be a mild blue- such as gorgonzola. Don’t hesitate to add more mozzarella, garlic or green apple to this pizza! The pizza dough was delicious, crispy and chewy!

Combine the flour, salt, yeast, and water in a large mixing bowel. Stir well, the dough should be sticky and wet. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and let stand at room temp for at least 6 hours.

When the dough is done rising, preheat your oven to 500ºF. Grease a large cookie sheet with about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Using oily hands, transfer the dough to the cookie sheet and smush out into a roughly rectangular shape.

Coat the top of the dough with 1 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle evenly with garlic. Bake it in the oven for 7-8 minutes, being careful not to let the garlic burn.

Remove the dough from the oven and add the mozzarella and apple slices. Finally, sprinkle blue cheese on top. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, remove when the apple slices have wilted a bit and the cheese has melted.

I’ve had Mark Bittman’s book now for over a year, and I’m very upset I had not picked it up more often to find new and fun dishes. As each week passes, I love this project since it’s a great way to go though a book. And I love seeing what people pick out as their dish.

Remember when I made the fig flatbread this past summer? That was the day I fell in love with figs! Once they’re in season, I might have to remake this dish- it was absolutely delicious.

Unfortunately, figs are not in season in DC at this time of the year. So I used dried figs which I found at Whole Foods. Although, you can use cranberries, dried cherries or any other dried fruit in this recipe. It’ll all work well.

When making this dish, we used more brussels sprouts, and added mushrooms and onions. We also didn’t bake the dish, but that is all preference. This is definitely one you can impress all of your friends with, or enjoy it as an easy weeknight meal.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tsp salt. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook it for 10-15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Meanwhile, mix the brussels sprouts, garlic with the olive oil and 1 tbsp salt. Bake this mix for 20 minutes, or until the brussels sprouts are tender in the middle.

Melt butter in a skillet. Then add the mushrooms and onions. Sauté the vegetables until the mushrooms and onions are soft.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it back into the pot. Add in the figs and blue cheese, stir together so the cheese starts to melt. Then add in the mushroom and onion mix. Stir well before serving.